A POWERFUL PICTURE OF BILL STRESS


The impact of rising energy costs on low-income households were powerfully depicted in a ‘photo voice’ exhibition at the State Library in December 2014. The exhibition, titled ‘Seeing Energy Stress’, included images from people on low incomes, showing how bill stress affects their lives.


While rising energy costs are more often represented in graphs and figures, the exhibition offered a different view, providing a compelling insight into the hardship caused by high energy costs.


UniSA, Uniting Communities and SACOSS asked some lower-income energy consumers to show what rising energy costs looks like to them. Twelve people were loaned cameras and invited to capture the impact of energy costs in their lives, and what they want to say to decision-makers involved in setting the price of energy.


The result was a series of striking images portraying empty fridges, home-brand groceries, two-minute noodles, and the use of candles


for heating and lighting, empty light sockets, threadbare blankets and cobwebbed cars.


The exhibition enabled the people who are most affected by high energy costs to tell their own stories, and draw attention to this important issue.


Advocacy projects such as this demonstrate just one of the ways Uniting Communities works towards improving the lives of all South Australians. In addition to providing practical support to help individuals on low incomes manage their bills, Uniting Communities continues to engage at the political level with state and national ministers over legislative change that will give greater protection to low-income households.


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